ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY
Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL) responds to the challenges of climate change globally by ensuring environmental protection is in place for all its road infrastructure projects.
RAL holds firm the principles of sustainable development in implementing projects, pioneered by the Environmental Management division, which is headed by Shonisani Patience Tshivhase. Shoni, as Ms Tshivhase is commonly known, was born and raised in a village of Khalavha within the now Thulamela Local Municipality of the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province. Ms Tshivhase is no stranger to environmental sustainable development as she was raised on the conscience of community subsistence farming wherein her upbringing exposed her to acquire basic knowledge of farming.
She grew up in a household with both parents. She is the third born (middle child) in a family of five kids – two elder sisters and a younger brother and sister.
Herself now a mother, to Wisani (eldest daughter) and son Ndzalo, she imposes similar principles from her upbringing upon them.
Ms Tshivhase enjoyed much of her junior and senior years of schooling in the Vhembe District at Fondwe Primary School, in a village of Fondwe, and at Dimani Agricultural High School - a boarding school in the township of Shayandima outside Thohoyandou.
She progressed to pursue her tertiary education in Natural Sciences at the University of the North, the now University of Limpopo, where she acquired her Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in 1995 and BSc (Honours) in 1996.
Ms Tshivhase proceeded to further her studies and acquire a
Masters Degree in Environmental Sciences at University of Venda in 2008 and a Management Advancement Programme (MAP) with the University of the Witwatersrand in 2010.
Apart from these formal qualifications, she has acquired a total of 22 certificates in short courses; 14 in environmental management, seven in health and safety management and one in project management.
Ms Tshivhase is a registered Professional Natural Scientist – Environmental Science with the South African Council of Natural Scientist (SACNASP), in terms of section 20 (3) Natural Scientific Professions Act 27 of 2003.
Her first professional appointment was through the Limpopo Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism whilst perusing her Honours Degree in January of 1997 in the Scientific Services division. The division was comprised of Environmental Impact Assessment Biodiversity, Integrated Pollution & Waste Management and Ecological sections.
She became pivotal in the newly adopted National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 and other subsequent environmental legislations on Air quality, Biodiversity, Integrated waste management and pollution control, Environmental Impact Assessment regulations, Water Act etc.
She occupied the position of a Nature Conservation
Scientist and was later promoted to Senior Nature Conservation Scientist from 1997 to 2003.
In 2003, she joined RAL on a long serving journey that has still currently occupied her professional career as an Environmental Manager for road infrastructure sector.
She is currently a member of International Association Impact Association (IAIA SA), and Regional Mining Development Committee (R.E.M.D.E.C) of Dept of Minerals & Energy Limpopo. Throughout her professional journey she had served in different professional portfolios such as:
• Council of Limpopo Heritage Resources Authority (L.I.H.R.A)
•Provincial Adjudicating Committee for Cleanest Town Competition - Limpopo
•Phalaborwa and Ellisras Environmental Management committees
• Water Quality Liaison Committee - Dept of Water Affairs & Forestry The inception of the Environmental Management Division at RAL was one of Ms Tshivhase’s immediate challenges upon joining the institution. She has had her fair share of professional growth in establishing an understanding of the environmental management field amongst seasoned civil engineers, contractors and RAL engineering staff.
It has been a very interesting and challenging long journey to raise the level of environmental compliance in RAL projects to where it is. This has been a team work with my different subordinates over the years, namely Matodzi Silidi, Percy Mahinga and Khakhathi Mulaudzi (all of whom have since moved on) and now with Thabelo Mulaudzi.
As a team we both strived to succeed in creating environmental awareness to all the project teams to a level where environmental management got recognition from the planning until project completion phase.
The current staff complement is comprised of Mses Tshivhase and (Thabelo) Mulaudzi, as profiled on page 39. Amongst the challenges of staff shortages, Ms Tshivhase takes pride in her achievements of ensuring environmental compliance in more than 300 projects since she joined RAL.
While overwhelmed with this challenge, she seized an opportunity to inspire others and motivate herself with taking on more to her title than anticipated. She offers tremendous experience, knowledge and skills in her area of expertise.
Ms Tshivhase firmly believes in leading from the front and that may be seen from her engagements with subordinates in her department. Her independent approach to work filters through to those in her department to single headedly manage themselves with any tasks or challenges within the department. She is fond of sharing and transferring her acquired skills to the next generation of youth minds in this field through mentorship and advice.
Throughout the years, her sense of ambition has gained her self-confidence, which she shares with her younger subordinates and peers. She learnt at a very young age of her career to manage expectations on all cogovernance structures, be it at local, provincial or national.
Furthermore, she reiterates that her late father always told her that “perseverance is the mother of success”. Her sense of inspiration can be credited to her upbringing around her family and fellow community.
While passionate about her career obligations, Ms Tshivhase prefers to have her own space when not occupied with work. She also enjoys watching environmental documentaries, local soapies, news, listening to music, and travelling and going on holiday with her family.
Ms Tshivhase’s aspiration is that the construction industry role players instil the culture of environmental sustainability in their day to day operations.